ABSTRACTEnabling students to become independent learners is a desirable goal for many educators. However, the task is not always easily addressed with the long lists of concrete, technical objectives that must usually be covered in classes. As a result, information often follows a oneway path from the instructor to the student, and students can develop a reliance on “packaged” knowledge and answers from only teachers and textbooks. In efforts to engage students in the learning process and to encourage the self-directed exploration of knowledge, “information competence” [1] has been incorporated into an upper-level materials course. Using current topics in materials science and engineering, students formulate questions to address specific issues and then locate pertinent information. A variety of resources, such as newspapers, web sites, and scholarly journals, are explored and evaluated. The instructor acts as a facilitator that assists with search strategies and evaluation of the information. Students develop the ability to process and reorganize the information into useful forms (e.g., reports, oral presentations). Providing the tools and instructions to function effectively in this Information Age will hopefully promote lifelong learning in today's students.
Active Learning Techniques and Online Tools Applied to the Educational Experience of 2nd Year Materials Science and Engineering Students
